IPOB: Our agitation for Biafra not out of hatred for Nigeria

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) said on Tuesday its agitation for the Biafra Republic was not borne out of hatred for Nigeria.

The IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful, made the clarification in a statement in Awka, Anambra.

He said: “If after referendum Biafrans vote ‘yes’ to exit Nigeria, Biafra and Nigeria can still be good neighbors. Our request for the independent state of Biafra is not out of hatred for others but for self-preservation and reclamation of racial dignity.

He said the incarceration of the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, was “unconstitutional,” adding that self-determination was legal under the African Union Charter and the laws of the United Nations.

The spokesman stressed that the group’s demand for a referendum is indisputable and urged the Federal Government to pick a date for the exercise and its conditions.

Powerful added: “In Nigeria today, Kanu remains the only political prisoner held unconstitutionally in custody without charge because he is an Igbo man. The main reason for his persecution and illegal incarceration is because he is fighting for the freedom and wellbeing of his people.”